Marshall County Public Health Nurse Sandy Dunfee asked the Marshall County Commissioners Monday morning to opt into Senate Bill 4 funding.
Counties that opt into Senate Bill 4 will receive enhanced funding for 2024 and 2025. The minimum amount in 2024 would be about $535,000 and the maximum amount in 2025 would be about $714,000. In 2025, the minimum amount would be $1 million and the maximum would be about $1.4 million. The county match for the funds would be the average of county tax levy-related funds distributed to the local Health Department in the preceding three years. The local match would be about $50,000 or $60,000 where part of the match is in the Health Department’s budget.
Dunfee said funding could vary depending on how many counties opt in.
Dunfee said the Health Department could use the money to expand on programs already in place and create new offerings.
“We hope to be able to add a couple of new positions so that we can start some of the services that we are not doing,” said Dunfee. “One of those would be the maternal and child health. We’d like to add another environmentalist. We will partner with some local entities. We want to expand on student health services by adding a school liaison. We’re already working with our schools and we’ve been doing it without the funding by using grant funding.”
There are funding requirements that a certain percentage must be used for specific services. Several services are provided in which the Health Department partners with other entities, such as tobacco cessation, and this funding will help expand those resources for the county’s residents.
Commission President Stan Klotz noted that the expansions would be made without mandates, and it is in the statute that counties will retain local control.
Commissioner Kevin Overmyer stated that he testified on behalf of Senate Bill 4, mostly because of the local healthcare provider issues.
The commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to opt into Senate Bill 4 funding.
